Mark Hampton was a famous 20^th century Interior Designer to the American elite, including the likes of President and Mrs. George Bush and Estee Lauder.  He was best known for creating rooms that were comfortable and inviting. Mr. Hampton said that of all the decorating and remodeling projects a person undertakes in their lifetime, the bathroom is the most taxing because bathrooms “provide a place for private pampering, for a sybaritic mood that might otherwise be frowned upon. Hidden from the scrutiny of others, these rooms are secret havens of self-absorption”

Bravo.

Showers are for convenience. They’re practical. But the bath tub? Bathing is an oasis. The ritual of bathing has nothing to do with cleanliness; tub bathing is a simple luxury that requires nothing more than a commitment to yourself to take care of you.  Once hooked, tub time becomes sacred time where the...

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I thought this might be a great time to talk to you about what a body lotion or cream actually is. Some lotion/cream cosmetic makers do not create from scratch, they purchase a commercially made “lotion base” to which they simply stir in fragrance. Nothing wrong with this, but I do not consider this an Artisan-made product for which I’d pay top dollar. I create my lotion from scratch in 30 bottle batches.

In a nutshell: Water + Oil + Emulsifier + Preservative = Lotion or Cream.

Both “lotion” and “cream” are made using the same process, the differentiator is in the percentage of water used in the recipe, which determines its viscosity.

Less water = thicker product, a cream.
More water = thinner product, a lotion.  

Handcrafted lotion makers add all sorts of goodies to the above...

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Do you have dry, flaky skin? It's common when the seasons are changing. And almost a sure thing in the Winter months when we are required to turn on the furnace; we experience an increase in dry, itchy skin.

Dry skin is almost always just dead skin cells sloughing away or needing to be removed because we are shedding our top layer of skin every second of every day. The medical term for the process of cell turnover is "desquamation" (des-kwa-MA-shun) and it's a completely natural process in which skin cells are created, sloughed away and replaced. In a 24 hour period you shed a million dead skin cells! 

Helping remove that flaky top layer of skin is what is referred to in the beauty industry as "exfoliation" and it's the magic ticket to glowing skin. The billion dollar cosemetic industry does not want you...

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BEAU-TY (bu-tee) 1. The quality that gives pleasure to the mind or senses and is associated with properties such as excellence, truthfulness and originality.

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Skin care does not begin after you step out of the shower, skin care starts in the shower. I love milk soaps for that reason.

Milk based soaps, which have been around for centuries, are very kind to the skin. You may find that you need less moisturizer  after switching to a milk soap, which leaves skin feeling and looking softer and healthier.

Why milk? The chemistry of milk tells the story. Fat molecules are an important part of making good soap and milk is loaded with natural cream. The pH of goats milk is very close to the pH of human skin, a controversial topic, but I believe a fact that helps make goats milk soaps naturally gentle without the need for chemical additives. The milk contains lactic acid, an alpha-hydroxy and a natural exfoliant that promotes the shedding of...

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Keep soap up out of standing water. Unlike commercial soap, handmade soap contains all of its natural glycerin and will get mushy/melt if left in standing water. Keep your soap on a soap dish or in a soap sack.

Buy soap ahead of time. Soap actually gets better as it ages. I have soaps that are over three years old and they smell as wonderful as the day I made them. Keep a small stash on hand because handcrafted soap makes a great emergency birthday, thank-you, hostess, holiday, or teacher gift.

Let your soap dry out between uses. Make sure to let your soap dry out between uses. Don't allow your soap to sit in a puddle of water or let the shower mist pour down on it.

Cut that bar in half;...

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Castile Soap (pronounced cass-teel’) originated centuries ago in the Castile region of Spain, back in the day when soap was available only to the rich and royal. It was (is) made with 100% olive oil.

This is a very mild bar of soap that gently cleanses, making it safe for babies and people with allergies or sensitive skin. I prefer unscented goats milk soap for sensitive skin and kids, but that’s just my own personal opinion. I have customers who would disagree.

These days, it seems as though many companies and a lot of Soapers call their soap “Castile Soap” when it’s made with less than 100% olive oil. "Castile" now appears to be a name given to any soap that is vegetable oil based, but this is just not fair to a real deal bar of Castile Soap. If the soap...

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